Elvia Diaz: I don't like the new Martha McSally, but there's a reason why Democrats and conservative Republicans are afraid of her.

In just a few weeks, the anti-Trump Martha McSally has transformed herself into a profanity-laden, tough-as-nails, build-the-wall kind of gal kissing up to the president.

It’s hard to recognize the new McSally as the same southern Arizona congresswoman who refused to endorse Trump for president and criticized his administration's performance as “tremendously bumpy.”

That suddenly changed when she went after Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat against die-hard pro-Trump Joe Arpaio and Kelli Ward.

"Like our president, I'm tired of PC politicians and their BS excuses," McSally said in her Senate campaign kickoff video. "I'm a fighter pilot, and I talk like one.”

CLOSE

Senate candidate and U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, in a campaign video, says she's standing up to Sharia Law and tells Republicans in Washington to "grow a pair of ovaries."

Look past the Trump flip and foul mouth

I don’t know any fighter pilots, so I'll take McSally’s word that they're foul-mouthed. As if she needed to reinforce the notion, she dropped a bad word during a recent interview on Fox News just as she has reportedly done off camera.

Look, I’d rather see public officials conduct themselves with civility and abstain from profanity because they ought to lead by example as role models for our kids.

But I’m not the obscenity police, so I'll focus instead on the substance of her apparent sudden pro-Trump transformation.

Is McSally’s change real or a mere political ploy to edge out Arpaio and Ward in the Aug. 28 Republican primary to advance against Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema in the general election?

All candidates pander now. They have to

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U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (left) poses for a photo with Kathy Arjaratnam and her son, 9-year-old Anton, of Scottsdale, after McSally's announcement Jan. 12, 2018, that she is running for U.S. Senate.
Cheryl Evans/The Republic

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McSally is getting hit from all sides. On the one hand, Democrats criticize her as opportunistic with her tough-immigration stance and praise for Trump. They’re hammering her with daily emails asking residents not to be fooled, saying she’s merely attempting “to stave off the vicious AZGOP civil war primary against Kelli Ward and Joe Arpaio.”

On the other hand, conservative groups are going after McSally, saying she’s not conservative enough. The likes of the Tea Party Patriots, ConservativeHQ.com, the Eagle Forum and Citizens United opposed her candidacy even before she announced her Senate bid.

Both sides are afraid of her, and to me that means she’s worth considering.

It's obvious she’s doing what many politicians do when facing a brutal election – saying things they don't necessarily mean.

Of course we want candidates to remain honest and transparent. But the current political atmosphere has turned honest debate of ideas upside down. Can any politician or operative say they’ve never pandered?

She's still better than Arpaio and Ward

I’m not impressed with the new McSally. But I would – in a heartbeat – take the former female fighter pilot over Arpaio or Ward.

Arizonans must reject the extreme views of the former Maricopa County sheriff and the former state legislator who promotes isolationism in trade and global politics. That kind of philosophy hurts America; we must wake up before it’s too late.

Flake’s seat is one of the most competitive in the nation because it could change the Republicans' 51-49 advantage in the Senate. Everyone understands what’s at stake for Democrats, who see Sinema as their best chance to help flip control of that chamber.

In the end, the race will come down to voter turnout and which candidate can woo the 1.25 million independents, who are fed up with both parties.

But before we get to the general election, we must make sure neither Arpaio nor Ward advance out of the GOP primary.